Madrasah in the complex of Sultan Qalā’ūn

The madrasah in the complex of Sultan Qalā’ūn is located opposite the mausoleum. The madrasah’s entry, which is now blocked up, was at the end of a central passageway. Despite its poor state of conservation, it is possible to recreate its plan: visitors first entered a small vestibule that lead to a large courtyard. There were four iwans (vaulted hall or domed hall, walled on three sides with a large opening arch) of various sizes around this courtyard. The two side iwans are narrower than the other two, while the one located on the eastern side was an actual prayer hall. Between these iwans were the students’ living quarters, organized on three levels.

The madrasah was an institution of higher education, where Arabic sciences, and especially law, were taught. Madrasahs emerged as truly independent institutions at the beginning of the eleventh century, in Iran. The first madrasahs, during the Seljuk period, had a plan with four iwans, whose origins may go back to the Buddhist viharas (places of worship) in Central Asia and which were subsequently used in Seljuk constructions in Anatolia in the thirteenth century. As madrasahs developed in the Mediterranean world, courtyards surrounded by iwans continued to be used, but in varying numbers: there’s only one in the al-Firdaws Madrasah (1235–36), and two in the Bosra Madrasah (1135). In Egypt, the first madrasah with four iwans seems to have been the Zahiriyah Madrasah, built by Baybars in 1262–1263, but which has since disappeared. The madrasah in the Qalā’ūn complex followed a tradition that culminated in the construction of the complex of Sultan Hassan (1356–63).

The prayer hall is separated from the courtyard by an arcade on two levels surmounted by an oculus, which recalls models that had already been used in the Byzantine world. The three arches indicate its plan—basilical with three naves—, which, according to Hillenbrand, was influenced by mosque architecture. The pointed arches rest on high classical, pink granite columns with Corinthian capitals, enhanced by bases and imposts. Developed in classical Greece (around 380 BC), these columns, with their associated order, are present in constructions throughout the classical Mediterranean world (Pantheon in Rome). Used in Islamic countries—they were often re-used—, they sometimes served as models for new buildings, such as the Great Mosque of Córdoba. They also ornament many Western buildings, dating from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century.

The decorations in the prayer hall consist mainly of carved stucco. This material, which first emerged in antiquity, was frequently used in Islamic countries: in Iranian brick architecture, and also in Egypt and Spain (palace of Alhambra, fourteenth century). It is sometimes found in Europe, particularly on Carolingian constructions. In the madrasah in the complex of Sultan Qalā’ūn, and in the mausoleum, the stucco takes the form of long strips carved with vegetal motifs, which ornament the arches and form oculi completed by screen walls. Stucco has also been used extensively on the qibla wall, almost covering the entire surface—the result of a trend that developed under the Fātimids. A combination of two motifs is used: one is composed of vegetal tendrils, and the other is geometric. Radiating from six- and eight-pointed stars, they recall Mamluk woodworking, which was highly developed[1], and also Maghrib woodworking: on the mihrab in the Great Mosque of Taza (Morocco, c. 1290–1300).

The mihrab, which is smaller than the one in the mausoleum, is flanked by two columns that support a high semi-circular arch. The niche, which has a horseshoe plan, is decorated with marble of different colours and surmounted by a half-dome vault, which is entirely covered with mosaics with a gold background. They recall Byzantine art and the great architectural constructions of the Umayyads[2].

[2] Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem; the Great Mosque in Damascus.